merteensfandomcom-20200214-history
Strangers and Soldiers 01
Author's Note #1: The events that occur in this story are based off Human .4. The story was written by Mike A. Lancaster, and this author is not affiliated with Human .4 in any way. Author's note #2 : This story is a continuation of Hybrid .4. This will only make sense if you read the linked story above. Author's note #2 : This is a continuation of Strangers and Soldiers Prologue. It will only make sense if you read the link above. Author's note #4 : This author owns none of the art and images shown. ---- ....What a way to begin a story, huh? '' ''Not that it was intentional, of course. It's just, I've lost a lot in the past month, and I can't tell if I'll ever get it back. You know what I mean? Probably not. How can I be sure people will listen to this? It's not like I'm going to be sending this into the Authorities, even if I wanted to. For all I know, I'm just talking to myself, and my only legacy will be forgotten, just like everyone predicted. But I'd like to think that maybe, just maybe, at least one person will find this and listen. Just like everyone listened to Kyle Straker. My name's Ethan Macknamara. And, I guess this is my story. ---- Someone once told me my existence was pointless, that I should just give up right then and there, and nobody would care. I know now that's a lie. Barry, Ricky, Darrell, Sae...and Tess..they wouldn't want me to give up. I've held on for this long because of them. And just when I thought of letting go, life threw something unexpected at me. Something that seemed to say: Ethan, don't you dare give up. Trevor's gonna kill me for this, but....I'm happy this Upgrade happened. Sure, it got in the way of personal lives, and it erased dozens of people, but...it was also a second chance. Not just for 1.0, for 0.4 too. But I can't complain. I have a story to tell. So here we go. My dreams are filled with smoke. I can't tell where I'm going, but wherever I'm off to, it must be pretty cold. Every bone in my body is shivering. "Ethan?" I can hear Tess' voice, but it's too foggy for me to see her. I rub my hands, desperate for heat. "Tess?" "Oh my God, it's really you!" She runs out of the mist, placing her arms around me tightly. I struggle to breathe. "You're crushing me..." "Sorry." She lets go, smiling that awkward smile I loved. "I never should've left you, babe. I'm nothing without you." "I feel the exact same way." I say, leaning in to kiss her. Tess kisses me passionately, as the smoke surrounds us like we're in ''Twilight. Suddenly, it doesn't feel so cold anymore.'' "Please tell me you'll take me back." My still technically girlfriend begged. "Always." I promise her. But that didn't last for long. Because the next thing I can remember.... BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. I could hear voices. "Is he okay?" "...He's alive." BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. "How did they find him?" "A group of kids discovered him just outside the bubble. His vital symptoms were fine and all, but they couldn't get a stable connection to The Link from him." BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. "Well, he's comatose. What do you expect?" "I get that, but, we don't know anything about who this dude is, that's all." BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. "Hold up. Nothing?" "Not a single thing." BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. "Well, he's gotta have family, doesn't he?" "Of course. Wait a second...I think he might be waking up!" BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP. Wake. Up. And with that, every muscle in my body filled with electricity, and I sat up straight. The world threw itself before me. I had on an oxygen mask, no shirt, and standing before me were two nurses in robes. "Holy crap!" The first nurse had dirty blonde hair, and blue eyes. Her name tag read WENDY. "He is awake!" "Where am I?" I asked, my voice softer than I'd expected it to be. The second nurse grabbed my wrist. She was Asian, with dark brown hair. Her name tag had the name LOLA on it. "Um, are you okay?" "I'm fine!" I threw the blankets off my bed in a panic. "I just...what happened to me?" "We don't know." Lola shrugged nervously. I wasn't thinking straight. "Well, why am I in a hospital?!" "Because, you were in a coma!" Wendy spoke. "Now will you stop asking questions we don't have answers to?!" "But...for how long?" I didn't care about the attitude the first girl was giving me. I wanted some kind of answer. Lola shook her head. "You've been here for a few days, but when we found you, you were unconscious. So I'd say...a month at least?" "Oh." I bit my lip. I'd gotten over dramatic for no reason. "Well, thanks, I guess." "Just doing our job." Wendy rolled her eyes, as she and Lola stormed off. And with that, I collapsed, unconscious once more. ---- Now let's talk some real talk. What would you do if you woke up from being in a month-long coma, with no idea where you are, how you got there, or why you're here? If you're anything like me, you panic. This wasn't the world I knew. I didn't recognize anyone, nobody had a clue about who I was, and my family had magically blown themselves out of the picture. At this rate, I'm surprised I hadn't gone insane. Nothing added up. There was no middle ground. What was I supposed to do? Hope Wendy and Lola could solve my problems? Guess what: that's not at all how that works. When I woke up again, the doctors checked me for any possible health issues. They said I was fine. Then they asked me about any family I might have. I tried calling all the numbers I knew. First my mom, then my dad, then Kylie. None of them picked up. From there, I tried Trevor, and Barry, Ricky, Darrel, and Sae. I even tried Tess. Still, I got nothing. Looks like I was on my own. "I don't understand." Wendy was scribbling something down in a notebook. "Where's your family?!" "I don't know!" I said nonchalantly. It wasn't like they were dead...right? Lola pat me on the back. "Look, Ethan. It's okay if you don't know the answers to everything. But if you don't have any family..." She trailed off. I frowned. They were keeping something from me. "What?" "Your family doesn't want you." Wendy closed her notebook. My stomach sank. "Well, I'd understand why my family wouldn't want me. But what's that gotta do with anything?" Lola went pale as she shot a glance over at Wendy. "W-wait, you don't think that he-" "There's a good chance, Lola." Wendy nodded solemnly. Oh no. "What the heck are you guys talking about?" "If you have no family, it means you have to come live with us." Wendy said slowly. "....In the Penthouse." "The Penthouse?" They still weren't making sense. What was the Penthouse? Lola gulped. "And that means...living with Mrs. Wilberton." My shoulders slumped. No wonder they were being secretive. They were afraid of this Mrs. Wilberton. "She's the devil." Wendy muttered. "She makes kids eat hot sauce, and hits them with a ruler if they complain. Even the adults are scared of her." "But these are just rumors, right?" I laughed nervously. She sounded like a horrible foster parent. Neither of the girls spoke. My heart sank. "We have a friend, his name is Gordon." Lola said something at long last. "He was supposed to be working here today, but he got punished for not doing his homework, and he..." Wendy pat Lola on the shoulder. "Mrs. Wilberton makes people sit on... The Wall for five hours at a time if they misbehave. If they try to leave, she duct tapes them." This lady sounded like someone I didn't want to get to know. "Well, good thing neither of you live in The Penthouse..." Their gloomy and upset faces said otherwise. Oh. They lived in The Penthouse. "...We have to go. She expects us to be back soon." Wendy sighed, taking Lola away, not even bothering to get her notebook. You know how to make a long story really, really short? I had to go with them. Category:Stories Category:SAS Parts Category:The Upgrade Parts